Until The Last Petal Falls
by IamyourstalkeR
Summary: All traumatized Sakura Haruno wants is to move on from her past. With a new school and the prospect of friends standing before her, it seems like it would be easy. But what about the part of her that won't let go? Most likely Sasusaku
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Lulz!!! I's writing mah first author's note!!! And look how I'm showing off mah wundurful grammer. Lol! Just kidding. I don't really write (stories) like that. At school, it's a different story. Sooooo anyway this is just a (most likely) Sasusaku fanfic that I put up here for your enjoyment. Enjoy!! **

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Prologue

The young woman followed the path she had walked hundreds of times in her life. The icy wind of late winter whipped her long hair around her face like pale pink fire. She rubbed her hands together and hugged herself to try and keep warm. Dead leaves and frost crunched under her boots.

"Mom!" she yelled again. She was so sure she'd seen her mother come this way. The path led to a cliff, and her mom hadn't been well lately.

_Oh God, what if she falls?_ the young woman thought. This made her hurry even faster, and a few seconds later she came to the end of the path. The roar of the ocean filled her ears, and the salty air was almost overpowering.

Her mother stood at the very edge of the cliff, looking out over the ocean, a blank stare in her eyes. Her face was gaunt, with dark circles under her eyes which made the green in her irises stand out even more. The wind whipped her hair, which was the same shade as her daughter's, from her face, making her cheekbones protrude.

_She's wasted away so much in the last few weeks_, the young woman thought sadly.

"Mom, what are you doing out here?" The woman turned, just now noticing her daughter was there, and smiled sweetly. Her eyes still held that blank look.

"Sakura, why are you up? The sun's not even up yet," her mother replied.

"Mom, come with me," Sakura said, taking a step towards her mother. "It's cold out. You could catch something." Her mother ignored her and turned her head out towards the ocean.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The ocean, I mean. I used to practically live at the ocean when I was a child. Your grandmother swore I was really a mermaid." The sweet smile was still on her mother's face. "And when I met your father-" the smile faltered this time, and her voice broke. A single tear slipped out. She faced Sakura again. "I've failed you, haven't I?"

"Mom, no! Don't say that," Sakura said. Her heart was beating too fast now. Something was wrong, really, really wrong. "Come over here, okay? It's alright! Nothing's your fault!" Her voice rose with panic. Her mother's sweet smile returned.

"You were always such a sweet, forgiving girl, Sakura. I'm so sorry for everything." Sakura broke out in a run towards her mother.

"I love you, Sakura." Her mother turned and leaned into the open air and off the edge of the cliff.

Sakura would always remember that, in that moment, her mother looked like an angel.

The village leader, Fuujin, would never forget the sound that woke him from his sleep at three that morning. He quickly rose from bed and grabbed his gun off the wall. From the scream that had just echoed through the night, he suspected that something very bad was happening to someone with a good pair of lungs.

"Fuujin, where in the world are you off to?" his wife of twenty six years grumbled from the bed.

"Something's happenin'," he said, jerking on some pants.

"Be careful," she murmured, then fell back into sleep. Fuujin rushed quickly outside and saw other men with their guns already gathered in a crowd.

"Fuujin, you heard it too?" one of the villagers asked.

"Yeah, I heard it," he said slowly. "Alright, does anyone know where the sound was comin' from?" he yelled over the murmurs of the crowd. Many voices answered, all agreeing that it was the cliff. "Alright then," Fuujin said, "let's get goin'!"

Sakura's wasn't aware of how long she'd been sitting there before the men came.

"She the one who made that sound?" she heard one ask.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" That was Fuujin. She parted her mouth to reply, but couldn't find her voice. She just kept looking out towards the ocean.

"Oh, man, Fuujin, I think I found the problem," one man said as he peered over the cliff. Fuujin looked, then jerked his head back and shut his eyes.

"Oh, Meiko," Fuujin sighed, "what in the world were you thinking?"

Sakura felt someone put a coat over her. Someone bent over her. "C'mon, Sakura," she heard a man say. Arms slid under her, and she was lifted off the ground. "You'll catch your death out here," he said.

_Haha, catch my death out here!! Haha what a pun!! _ Sakura felt a crazy, insane laughter bubbling up inside of her. It escaped her mouth and sounded hysterical in her ears.

"Whoa, what the heck? Is she having a mental breakdown?!" the man holding her asked.

"She's just in shock," Fuujin said quietly. "Let's get her back to her house. Call Kakashi, Kaito. He'll want to know." Sakura felt her laughter turn into sobs, and salty tears ran down her face in streams. Tears as salty as the ocean.

Chapter 1

"I really think you'll like it here, Sakura. It's a good school, great students and all." Sakura blew her hot breath onto the car window and traced her finger through it. Her new guardian, Kakashi, was babbling on again about the school they were now heading to. He was a teacher there, at the Konoha Academy. The teacher of her first class, actually. They had come by the school yesterday and picked up her schedule along with lists of things she would need for her classes. Including the dreaded uniform she was wearing now. Plaid skirt, white button up shirt, dark green blazer, white knee – highs, and brown dress shoes.

_Oh, and let's not forget the red tie_, Sakura thought glumly. She sat in her seat, her head bent; her long, pink hair was tied in two pigtails, her bangs framing her face. Square framed glasses sat on her nose.

_I really don't want to be here,_ Sakura thought, tears pricking at her eyes. _I don't want to go to this stupid school. I just want to go in my room and stay there forever._ Not that it really was her room. She'd been living Kakashi for the past few months, and she was still adjusting.

And now it was the first day of school.

_God, this sucks!_ Kakashi had had to pull many strings to get her into this elitist school for the super rich. The car pulled to a stop in front of a massive stone castle. Sakura had to admit that it was impressive, but it only increased her feelings of anxiety. They got of the car and started walking towards the building. Sakura felt her breath catch in her throat and she quickly tugged on the sleeve of Kakashi's jacket.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked, turning.

"Please, Kakashi, take me home," she whispered. He could feel her hands shaking through the sleeve of his jacket. "I want to go home."

"Sakura, you'll be back home after school today. It's only a few hours," he said, patting her head.

"No, I mean home! My village! I wanna go back there so bad and forget everything!" she said fiercely. She was sniffing back tears, trying her best not to cry. Kakashi quickly hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

"I know, Sakura, I know. It's hard, I know, but you've got to try. Don't let yourself get sucked into some kind of despair. Try your hardest, Sakura! Promise me," he said. She nodded her head and quickly wiped away the tears in her eyes.

"Thanks, Kakashi. I'll try." She held her head high, proud, and jutted out her chin.

_I will not be pushed around anymore! _she thought, fire burning in her eyes. _My past is my past. It's time to start fresh._

_**T**__**hat's right**_, another voice said inside her head. _**Good girl.**_

Sakura walked through the door alone. Kakashi had insisted that he had something important to do in the teacher's lounge and left her outside the class.

Inside, it was like a frenzy. Girls in uniforms matching Sakura's sat all around the room, at tables and on tables and some were even in the floor. A large number of the girls were crowded around a table so thick that Sakura couldn't see what they were staring at. Guys wore the same uniforms, Sakura noticed, with khaki pants in place of skirts. One blonde boy with extraordinary blue eyes was rummaging through Kakashi's desk.

"Oh man! Sasuke! He has porn!" the boy yelled.

A voice came from within the crowd of girls. "Oooh, bring it over here, Naruto!"

Then, another voice, colder and more arrogant: "Shut up, you idiot. Naruto, leave Kakashi – sensei's porn alone. He's coming back to the room!"

"Whaa?! How do you know tha-"

"Naruto Uzumaki, I have you this year, too. It's going to be joy," Kakashi's sarcastic voice came from the doorway, cutting off Naruto. The boy's face turned scarlet, and he quickly scuttled away from the desk. "Everyone get to a seat!" he said over the roar of the students. "I have a new student to introduce!" All the students hushed at that, and all stared at the new girl with the long pink hair.

"Looks like a nerd," she heard one male voice say. She ignored it.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," she heard herself say. "Please take good care of me."

"Well, Ms. Haruno, you can take a seat by," he paused to scan the class, "Ms. Yamanaka." He pointed to a glamorous looking girl with long blond locks and bangs that covered one side of her face.

She's so pretty, Sakura thought. She once would have felt envy, but now she was thankful that she was nowhere near as beautiful as this girl.

_**Bad things happen to pretty people, don't they? And we know all about that, don't we, Sakura?**_ that strange little voice said.

She took her seat at the table.

"Hi! My name's Ino Yamanaka!" the blonde girl said. She seemed highly sociable.

"Hi, my name's Sakura," she mumbled back. Two other girls were sitting at the other side of the table. One had thick red hair and round glasses. She nodded towards Sakura.

"Nice glasses, Sakura. I need to get a pair of those instead of these big, round, ugly things," the girl said, smiling. "I'm Karin, by the way. And this shy girl beside me, who will probably spend the next thirty minutes wondering if you're secretly judging her or not, is Hinata Hyuuga." Sakura eyed the girl to Karin's left and saw that she was pretty, too. Her hair was a deep violet, almost black, and her eyes had not pupils. They were strangely pale white.

"It's nice to meet you, Sakura," she said shyly. The three girls muttered amongst themselves while Sakura drifted in her own world. She knew Kakashi was talking about something.

_I'll just ask him about it when we get back to the house,_ she thought. She found herself wondering amongst her memories, heard the ocean, saw her mother and father, remembered laying in the sun in the summer, reading a book. She heard Kakashi being called to the office from faraway. Suddenly a shadow came over her, breaking up her nostalgia.

"Oh, Itachi," she heard Karin say. The girl practically had hearts flying around her head. Sakura glanced at the guy in front of her. He was tall, with black hair pulled back in a ponytail and bangs that fell on the side of his face. His eyes were a chocolatey brown, and a single line came down from the corner of each eye.

"Hello, Sakura Haruno," he said. "My name is Itachi Uchiha." Sakura looked away, not really caring what he had to say. He seemed to understand this, and a vein of irritation pulsed in his forehead. He tried harder. "It's really my honor to meet you. You're really cute." Sakura's eyes narrowed at that.

_**He thinks we're stupid, doesn't he?**_ That little voice said. _**He thinks if he comes over here and says sweet words, we're going to fawn all over him. He wants us to be just another fangirl. But we've learned men well, haven't we, Sakura? We've learned the hard way. **_ The voice had a bitter edge. He makes us sick, and we have to keep him away.

Itachi irritation was visible now. The whole class was watching Sakura's response to Itachi's flattering statements. Girls' eyes burned with jealousy.

"Don't you think we should get to know each other better?" He reached out a hand to brush her cheek, and she quickly flinched away. He could swear he heard Sakura hiss. "Well, don't you?" This time he managed to grab a lock of her hair and ran it through his fingers. Sakura's body locked up with fear.

_Oh, God, I just wanna go home! _She screamed inside.

_**Don't let him do this to you**_, the little voice said. _**Don't put yourself through this again!**_ The little voice turned cold. _**What have you got to lose, after all?**_

Itachi thought he had won when the girl didn't flinch from his touch the second time. He was basking in his victory when her fist came flying into his face. While he was still stunned, Sakura picked up the wooden chair she'd been sitting in and swung it with full force into his body. He flew back a few feet and hit the ground with a loud smack. He didn't even have time to get up before she was on him again. Her glasses had flown off and hit the floor, and her shining pink hair was coming loose, he noticed. Her fist rammed into his face again and again, and he could feel the blood pouring from his nose and busted lip. He knew he should fight back, but he couldn't make himself hit her. Her jade eyes were shining, her fury making her like an angel.

And that's when Itachi realized he'd fallen in love with the girl who was beating the crap out of him.

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**Okay, so that's it for the first chapter XD**

**You like it, no? Well, maybe not... Anyway, THIS FIC WILL NOT BE KAKASAKU YOU SICK PERVERTS!!! He is going to be a father figure and NOTHING MORE!!!!!!...!!! **

**Oh, yeah, to my peeps in copywriting:**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT not not own Naruto. Figure that one out, you nazis.**

**Oh yeah, and before my lil sis bugs me to death, this is dedicated to NeverEndingOblivion (can you guess who that is? My SISTER maybe?) Anyway, she's cool so plz check out her stuffs.**

**Oh yah, and the next chapter is already written and will be up soon!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so hello everyone. This is my second author's note and I'm so proud of the four reviews I have so far!! I know, I know, it's pathetic to almost pee yourself when you see a new review. Ah, I need a life. Anyway, here's the new chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, however, all of the males would be hot and walk around naked. Period.**

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Chapter 2

Sasuke sat unhappily at his table. The two months of summer had gone quicker than he had expected, and here he was, back at school again. Unfortunately, so was his brother, who was supposed to have graduated two years before.

"I can't believe you failed. Again," Sasuke hissed at his older brother. Itachi just waved his left hand in his brother's face, his right around some big chested girl in his lap.

"You're just jealous 'cause I'm here stealing all your fangirls," he said with a smirk that made him and his brother look identical. "Not that it matters, of course. You're so homo!!" Itachi, finding his own statement hysterical, burst out into laughter.

_Yeah, like that's true,_ thought Sasuke. A gaggle of girls sat on their table, each trying to flirt with the brothers at the same time. The stench of their strong perfume was gagging him. Their voices and giggles were like nails on a chalkboard. I've probably slept with half of these girls.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun!" one girl yelled out annoyingly as she plopped herself down in his lap. He cringed and fought the urge to strangle her as her butt crushed an extremely sensitive part of his body. "I've waited two loooong months to see you again, Sasuke-kun!" she said, running a hand through his raven hair. "Especially after that night we had before school let out," she whispered in his ear. He groaned inwardly at the aspect of her even thinking he remembered who the heck she was.

_Was she that girl at Naruto's party? Crap! I can't remember. Oh well._ Sasuke couldn't tell one girl apart from the other anymore. They all looked the same. All of them wore their skirts too short at school and their shirts were too tight. All of them usually had too much makeup globbed on their ugly faces and perfume so strong it could down a bull. The girl in his lap right now had her school uniform skirt so short her panties were almost sticking out. Her shirt was unbuttoned far enough down for him to see a good bit of her chest. And yet, it wasn't having an effect on him at all.

_Maybe I really am gay_, Sasuke thought.

"Oh man! Sasuke! He has porn!" he Naruto yell.

"Oooh, bring it over here, Naruto!" Itachi yelled.

Sasuke massaged his temple as the girl in his lap chattered on like a rabid monkey. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the classroom.

"Shut up, you idiot. Naruto, leave Kakashi – sensei's porn alone. He's coming back to the room!" He heard Naruto start to say something, but their teacher, Kakashi Hatake, interrupted him and made everyone get to a table. Naruto sat across from Sasuke as Kakashi introduced a new student. Everyone turned to stare at the scraggly girl in the front of the room. She had long pink hair pulled into two pigtails that rested at her shoulders. Soft pink bangs framed her face, and a pair of black, square glasses hid her eyes. She was small, barely over five feet tall, Sasuke noticed, and probably weighed no more than a hundred pounds. Her uniform was also very conservative. Her skirt actually came to her knees, her white shirt was tucked in, and she had her blazer on. She was also wearing her knee-highs.

_Such a geek_, Sasuke thought cruelly.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the girl said. "Please take care of me." Her voice was flat and emotionless. Kakashi pointed out a place for her to sit; she walked to the table proudly, her back straight and her head held high, her chin jutting out defiantly. She took her place by Ino, who immediately struck up a conversation with her.

She looks awkward, Sasuke thought, like talking to other people isn't something she normally does. After a few minutes, the girl laid her head down on her desk. Her glasses slipped down some, revealing jade eyes. She was staring directly at Sasuke's table, but her eyes were glazed over.

_Probably doesn't even know she's staring over here. She looks absorbed in her own thoughts. _

"Okay, class, I'm your teacher, Hatake-sensei. And this," he wrote the name of the class on the board, "is an advanced class on the history of Konohakagure." Sasuke zoned the man out. Kakashi's classes were always easy, even if you didn't listen.

"So, what do you think of the new girl?" Itachi whispered to Sasuke. Sasuke just delivered a glare to his brother.

"Well I think she's probably cute, under all that dork," Itachi continued.

"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto burst out in a fierce whisper. "She's too tiny! And her glasses are worse than Karin's!!" Sasuke smirked as Karin, who apparently heard this, shot a glare at Naruto's back. The blonde glanced at Sakura, who was still lost in thought. "She looks mentally defected, dude," he said to Itachi.

"You'd know about being mentally defected, wouldn't you, Naruto?" Sasuke said, the smirk still on his face. Naruto banged his hands on the table.

"Sasuke-teme!" he said loudly. Kakashi cleared his throat and looked at Naruto, who blushed profusely. Kakashi resumed talking.

"Well, you just watch," Itachi said proudly, holding his head high. "As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to win her over with my manly charm, and she will join my harem of fangirls."

In Itachi's head, the scene was already playing out:

Itachi: **Strides confidently over to Sakura's table and a blush rises on her face. Sparklies and flowers decorate the air** You're very cute, Sakura-chan. My heart was burning for you the first time I saw you enter the room. You're the only one in my thoughts now, darling.

Sakura:**Clasps hands together and makes passionate face** Oh, Itachi-kun, you're so handsome and charming. Of course I will be yours forever! Whenever you need me, all you have to do is ask!!

Itachi: **Kneels before Sakura, removes her glasses, and stares deep into her beautiful eyes** My love, our fates are bound by the stars!!! **Violins play in background as long, passionate kiss occurs**

"Is that what you really think is going to happen?" Sasuke asked, a vein popping out on his forehead.

"Dude, that was so gay!" Naruto said with a snort of laughter. "You've been reading way too much shoujo manga."

Itachi's face turned scarlet. "What?! Shoujo manga? Me?! Where did you get that silly idea?!" He let out a screechy nervous laugh as his eyes swiftly scanned the room to see if anyone had heard his secret hobby. Thankfully, at that moment, Kakashi was called to the office. Itachi's nerve grating laughter stopped and a smirk lighted on his face.

"Here's my chance, boys. Watch the master."

Sasuke watched as the girl ignored Itachi's first attempt at 'wooing' her with amusement. Itachi attempted again, and failed. A tick was starting to develop under his eye. Sasuke almost laughed, but then his eyes went to Sakura. Her fists were clenched under the table, and she was shaking.

_What? _He thought. _Is she afraid? Or angry? Or is she both?_ This was getting interesting. Apparently he wasn't the only one to think so; everyone was watching the scene.

Itachi reached out and she quickly flinched back. He reached out again after saying something, this time managing to grab some of her pink locks. Sakura's shaking escalated. Sasuke expected her to burst into tears, or to run out of the room. Something girly like that.

What he did not expect was for her to suddenly swing her fist out into a graceful arc and land a hit on his brother's face. Apparently Itachi didn't either, because he was stunned long enough for Sakura to pick up her wooden chair and swing it full force into him, knocking him back and down. The chair broke with the force of the impact. Sakura didn't even wait for Itachi to hit the ground again before she was on him, her glasses off her face and flying through the air. They skidded and came to a stop near Sasuke's feet. He bent over and picked them up off the ground; blood was splattered on the glass.

"Aren't you going to do anything?!" Naruto demanded. Sasuke returned his gaze to Itachi's beating. Sakura had him held up by his collar, her right fist repeatedly coming into contact with his face. Blood was splattering everywhere. The back of Itachi's head hit the ground every time he was hit in the face.

"No," Sasuke said, bored. "I think this'll do him some good. Get that ego down to size, ya know?" Naruto just rolled his eyes. Everyone else seemed content to sit and watch as the small, pink-haired girl delivered a brutal beating to the most beloved guy at the Academy, too, Sasuke noticed.

Suddenly, Sakura hesitated, her fist in midair. She and Itachi were gazing into each other's eyes. She was panting heavily, her chest rising and falling. Itachi was giving her the weirdest look.

_Why is he staring at her like that?_ Sasuke wondered, raising an eyebrow. _He's staring at her like a starving man would stare at a feast._

Sakura relaxed her grip on Itachi's collar and his head rested gently on the tiled floor. She tore her eyes away from his gaze, and slowly stood up, her back straight once more and her head held high. No one made a sound. Itachi still gazed at her in wonder.

"Are you quite finished, Miss Haruno?" Kakashi made everyone jump as his soft question broke the silence. Sakura held up a finger and strode over to Sasuke. She looked him directly in the eyes, and he felt a ripple of fear and excitement run down his back, making the hair on his neck stand erect.

_She's crazy_, he said to himself, _something inside her is broken. Her eyes are too calm; she looks like a machine._

She held out her palm, and he gently placed her square black glasses in her hand. She turned away from him and walked through the door, Kakashi following.

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"First day of school and she's already beaten up a student, huh? And Itachi Uchiha at that. I think I really like this girl."

Sakura was sitting in the office and outside of the door labeled "Tsunade, School Nurse, Councilor" listening to the conversation going on between her guardian and the busty, scary-looking blonde woman. She winced as she accidentally bumped her bandaged hand on a chair leg. She had busted a few of the knuckles open on her hand from the beating she had delivered.

"Tsunade, this isn't a joke," she heard Kakashi say in a somber tone. "Wait until you see Uchiha. He's a bloody mess. I caught the last end of the fight, and she was...I don't know. She didn't lose control. Her eyes were calm, not wild, like she was doing a chore or something. And then she just stopped." She heard Kakashi pause. "I don't know. She's changed so much, Tsunade. A year ago she wasn't anything like this."

"I've read her file, Kakashi," Tsunade said softly, apparently trying to calm the man down. "She's been through a lot in the past year." Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. "I think she needs to come to me for therapy. Sakura needs to talk to someone. Even though she may not cooperate with me, she'll at least have a person to come to for if things get too stressful."

"She's got me," Kakashi said quietly.

"But she doesn't trust you," Tsunade said firmly. Sakura heard Kakashi let out a sigh.

"I'm probably just going to take her home for today," Kakashi said, giving in. "What time do you want me to bring her by?"

"Try around four; I should be free then." A jingling sound went off in Tsunade's office, then stopped abruptly. "Shizune just texted me. I have to go patch up Uchiha." Sakura quickly stood up and placed herself in one of the office chairs on the opposite side of the room. Tsunade strode through the door and out of the office, Kakashi trailing along. A smile lit his face.

"Sakura, how about I take you home now?" he said warmly. Sakura looked up at him and nodded.

"But you don't need to take me. I'm capable of walking," she said.

"No, it's too far for you to walk," he said, rejecting the idea.

"Then I'll take the bus." Sakura's head was held stubbornly. "You really don't have to baby me; I know my way back. I have money for the bus, too." Kakashi just shook his head.

_She's just too much like her mother_, he thought with a wry smile.

"All right, go ahead. Tsunade would like to see you in her office at four today, though. Will you be okay with that?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Sakura said, shouldering her bag. She walked out of the door and into the hall, her heels clicking on the hard, tile floor.

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Sasuke poured himself a mug of hot, black coffee and sat in one of the lounge chairs in the living room of his house.

"Sasuke!!" his older brother whined from the couch right beside him, "I'm out of water!" Itachi held up his empty water bottle and shook it to make his point. Sasuke sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling a major headache brewing up in his brain.

"Then go get some out of the fridge, you idiot," he said, opening up the book he was supposed to be reading for his English class.

"But, Pooky, my ribs are broken! Won't you please get some water for your Kiki?" Itachi continued to whine. Sasuke felt his eye twitch and all his working parts shrivel up and die when his brother said that.

"Haven't I told you NEVER TO CALL ME THAT?!" Sasuke snapped. A rather large vein was pulsing visibly above his left eye.

"But that's what we used to call each other all the time," Itachi said, poking out his bottom lip as his eyes teared up. Sasuke snorted in disgust and went back to reading his book.

Itachi sighed. "Fine, I guess that doesn't work with you anymore." He sat sullenly on the couch, then an evil smile slid across his face. He clicked the "On" button on the remote. The TV came on, and the cruel older brother flicked it to the Animal Planet channel.

"_Watch as the baby meerkat is stalked by a rabid, flesh-hungry hyena_," the narrator's voice said calmly. Sasuke's eyes bugged out of his head and he dropped the book he was reading. He flew out of the chair he was sitting in and over to the TV screen, his face and hands pressed against it.

"RUN, BABY MEERKAT! _FOR THE LOVE OF GOD RUN_!!!" he yelled. Itachi clicked the TV off.

"Now that I have your attention..." he said smugly. Sasuke turned and glared at him.

"You sick mother-"

"I have a proposition for you," Itachi continued, cutting him off. Sasuke, still shooting anger lasers with his eyes, sat back down in his chair and sipped on his coffee.

Once more composed, he narrowed his eyes and said, "And why should I care?"

Itachi sighed. "Fine. I don't mind watching little baby meerkats getting chewed into bits so-"

"What?! What do you want me to do?!" Sasuke said frantically.

"First of all," Itachi began, "I am in love with Sakura Haruno." Sasuke's coffee spewed out of his mouth and splattered on the wall ten feet away.

"What?!"

"Now, I know she's not like normal girls, so there's no way I know what to say to her." Itachi plowed on, oblivious to his brother's distress.

"Itachi, let me say this now: She. Beat. The. Crap. Out. Of. You. I think that means she's not returning any love at the moment. I'm pretty sure this whole 'I'm in love with Sakura' thing is just your concussion talking."

"Aha! _At the moment_," Itachi emphasized, ignoring everything else his brother had said. "What I need is a middle man, a spy of sorts, to gain her trust and find out what she likes to do, her favorite things, stuff like that. Then, I can woo her and make her fall head over heels for me." There was a fire of determination in his eyes that Sasuke didn't particularly like.

"Even if I agree to this, what happens after she falls in love with you?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow in curiousity.

"I'm going to marry her and she'll have Uchiha babies," Itachi said seriously. Sasuke couldn't help it. He burst into laughter so hard he thought his own ribs would break.

"I'm serious, Sasuke," Itachi said.

"I know! That's why it's so funny!" Sasuke managed to get out. His laughter finally slowed, then died out. He wiped tears from his eyes.

"Sasuke, please, help me," Itachi said. Sasuke was a little shocked. His brother had never seriously asked him to do anything before, not like that.

"Tell me why you're in love with her," Sasuke said hesitantly. "She beat the crap out of you. You should feel anger or humiliation or something, not love."

Itachi's eyes got all starry. "It was like, when she was beating me, there was this halo of light around her, and her pink hair shone so beautifully in it. And her eyes! They're beautiful, Sasuke!" He sighed and fluttery pink hearts buzzed around his head.

"Okay, I'll help you, just shut up."

_I'm going to regret this_, the young Uchiha thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sakura stepped off the bus and glanced upward.

_Looks like rain_, she thought. The gray and black clouds had gathered together and almost totally blocked out the sun. The pink haired girl walked slowly down the sidewalk, thankful she didn't have far to go.

Konohakagure was a rather large city, and it even had it's own sections for different neighborhoods. In her old village, a few houses scattered around with a little market store smack dab in the middle. In Konoha, there were six neighborhood sections, all separated by fences, circled around the market part of the city. In the market part, there were hundreds of department stores that Sakura had never even heard of before, much less been in.

_How am I ever gonna get used to this?_ she thought sadly. Her feet carried her on towards Kakashi's house. Thunder rumbled overhead, and a few sprinkles of rain started to fall.

"Oh, great!" she hissed. A small sound stopped her. She turn her head, looking for the source. She heard it again, a small yipping sound. It was coming from ahead of her. She ran forward and stopped again to listen for the sound. It was coming from the long gravel road on her right. Trees lined the sides of the road, making it appear sinister.

Might as well keep going, she thought. She walked down the road, the yipping sounds getting closer. Finally, she reached the origin of the pathetic sounds.

A dead mother dog was laying in the road, apparently run over a few hours before. The blood was still fresh on the gravel rocks, and the smell was enough to make her cringe. A little puppy sat beside it, yipping agitatedly. In poked the corpse in it's flank, trying to make it get up. Sakura bent down to the puppy, and it looked up to her, it's yipping stopped for the moment.

"She's not getting back up," she said to the puppy, as if could understand. "She's dead now, and she's never coming back." Sakura felt tears for herself and the puppy line her eyelids. She quickly shook them away.

_Should I take it with me?_ she wondered. _It looks so little, and it's about to storm_. As if to confirm Sakura's beliefs, the rain began to pound even harder, and thunder rumbled close by. Lightning lit up the sky, making the bedraggled puppy leap back and yelp, frightened.

"Alright then, I guess you're coming with me," Sakura said. She scooped the little mud soaked puppy into her arms and began to run in the direction of Kakashi's house.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Alright, let's find out what you look like under all of that mud," Sakura said to the puppy. She had decided to take a bath along with the poor creature. It eyed the water uncertainly. Sakura stepped gingerly into the warm water of the tub, the puppy cradled on her right arm; she was trying her best to keep it out of the water because of her busted knuckles and because she didn't want the poor puppy to drown. She squirted some shampoo onto it's coat and began scrubbing it. It protested profusely about the position it was in, but after rinsing it and repeating the cycle a few time, it's color and sex were revealed. The puppy was a boy, with a black and brown mottled coat. Sakura giggled.

"Wow, you look just like a little mud puddle anyway," she said, smiling truly for the first time in a while. She set him down on the floor. He shook himself off and scampered around the floor while Sakura quickly washed her hair and her body.

She finally got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her. With another smaller towel she thoroughly dried off the puppy.

_He can't be any older than six weeks,_ Sakura thought as she toweled him dry.

"All right, what's your name?" she asked the air. The puppy looked up at her with squinty eyes, which made him look even more like a little mud puddle somehow. "How about Puddle, huh?" The puppy just stared.

"All right, then. Puddle it is." Puddle yawned and snuggled up in her arm. She walked to her room and laid him gently on her bed, then picked up her phone and texted Kakashi to bring home cat food. She laid down on her bed and turned on the TV, flicking channels to see if anything was on. Puddle woke himself up enough to crawl on her stomach, then was asleep again. She smiled and stroked his curled up back. She stopped clicking the remote when she found one of her favorite movies on: Stick It.

For the first time in a while, Sakura was content.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

**Okay, so we all know how this goes. I get on my knees and beg you to review, and the few that take pity on me actually do this. And to the ones of you who review, when I take over the world and make Johnny Depp my king (lol) you will all be on my good side. w **

**On a separate note, due to my work schedule, I will probably only update once a week. Sorry, I knoes, I needs to be mauled. **

STICK IT RULES!!!! "It's not called gym-nice-tics."


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